Stinking Trouble

This encounter can be used anywhere on the way to Helia. It doesn't require anything; it's completely self contained.
In this area the Kings Road is in bad shape. It hasn't been maintained and some passersby on the road have warned the party about this stretch of road.
As the party is walking they begin to smell decomposition. At 100' a perception roll of 12 will warn of something ahead. 50' further, the party can see the nude bodies of 3 people. There is a male and female human and a male halfling. Their bodies have been stripped (there are no traces of the skin being exposed to the sun). They have been here at least 2 days. All of them show signs of being eaten by forest scavengers. If the party stops to investigate they will be attacked by a Carrion Crawler who has been guarding this spot waiting for the corpses to ripen and chasing off interlopers. It has climbed a tree and will drop on anything getting to close to the bodies by dropping down on them.
If the players succeed in standing firm and killing the monster, they will have an opportunity to investigate the bodies. They will find wounds that can only be made by slashing weapons. There are many scavenger foot prints but there are more made by goblins. If a successful investigation roll is made they can see that there are marks of people being dragged away. If they do follow the drag marks, they will lead to a goblin lair.

Carrion Crawler

Armor Class 13 {natural armor)
Hit Points 51 (6d10 + 18)
Speed 30ft., climb 30ft.
STR 14 (+2) - DEX 13 (+1) - CON 16 (+3) - INT 1 (- 5) - WIS 12 (+1) - CHA 5 (- 3)
Skills Perception +3
Senses darkvision 60ft., passive Perception 13
Languages -
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Keen Smell. The carrion crawler has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Spider Climb. The carrion crawler can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The carrion crawler makes two attacks: one with its tentacles and one with its bite.
Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10ft., one creature. Hit: 4 (1 d4 + 2) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. Until this poison ends, the ta rget is paralyzed. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the poison on itself on a success.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft ., one target.
Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) piercing damage.

Carrion crawlers scour putrid flesh from carcasses and gobble the slimy bones that remain. They aggressively attack any creature that trespasses on their territory or
disturbs their feasting. Carrion Eaters. A carrion crawler follows the scent of death to its food, but it prefers not to compete with other scavengers. These foul creatures thus hunker down in territories where death is plentiful and other carrion eaters have limited mobility. Caves, sewers, dungeons, and forested marshes are their favored lairs, but carrion crawlers are also drawn to battlefields and cemeteries.
A carrion crawler roams on the hunt, its tentacles probing the air for the scent of blood or decay. In tunnels or ruins, carrion crawlers scurry across the ceiling as they move toward food. In this way, they avoid contact with oozes, otyughs, and other dangerous inhabitants of the darkness, even as they surprise potential meals that don't think to look up.
Patient Predators. Whether in subterranean darkness or while hunting at night, light signals a potential meal. A carrion crawler might follow a light source from a distance for hours, hoping to pick up the scent of blood. Despite their great size, carrion crawlers can also easily set up ambushes by waiting around blind corners for prey to come to them.
When facing potential prey or intruders, a carrion crawler lets its poison do the work. Once a victim goes rigiq wit~ paralysis, the carrion crawler wraps it with its tentacles and drags it away to a high ledge or isolated passageway, where it can be killed safely. The monster then resumes patrolling its territory while waiting for its meal to ripen.